Minnesota (5-5) at San Francisco (5-5)
When: Sunday, November 28th 2021
Where: Levi’s Stadium,
Santa Clara, CA
Time: 4:25 ET | TV: FOX
Opening Odds: San Francisco -2.5/48
Two teams trending in the right direction square-off in an important NFC contest on Sunday afternoon as the Minnesota Vikings visit the San Francisco 49ers from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Vikings offense has picked it up and have won back-to-back games against potential playoff teams. Minnesota went out West two weeks ago and took care of the L.A. Chargers 27-20 before returning home to fend off rival Green Bay 34-31. The Vikings have now scored at least 27 points in three straight games and are tied with San Francisco for the last NFC playoff spot. The 49ers currently own the tiebreaker, which makes this game even more important. The Vikings come into this contest as 3-point underdogs, but have covered each of their last four road games.
After starting the season 2-4, the 49ers have heated up, winning three of their past four including a rare home win two weeks ago. The Niners have had all sorts of trouble winning at home the last couple of seasons, but temporarily eased fans’ minds with a 31-10 romp of the L.A. Rams in Week 10. Last week, San Francisco went on the road for an easy 30-10 win over the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars. This week’s contest with Minnesota will surely be more of a challenge. The 49ers have recorded 30+ points in three of the last four weeks, but have also scored less than 20 three times since Week 6. It seems to be all or nothing from this inconsistent offense. This will be the teams’ first meeting since Sept. 9, 2018, when the Vikings won 24-16.
Kirk Cousins is having a fantastic season and came through in the clutch for Minnesota with another two-minute drill to beat the Packers last week. Overall Cousins finished with 341 passing yards, three touchdowns, and no picks. For the season, Cousins has a 106.3 passer rating while amassing 2,775 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He has great weapons on the outside including star receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. Jefferson recorded a game-high 169 yards and had two scores on eight catches while Thielen hauled in eight for 82 yards and a touchdown. Jefferson has emerged as a superstar wideout and has 63 catches for 944 yards and six touchdowns on the season. The Minnesota defense has some holes, ranking 28th overall (378.9 ypg) and 28th against the run (127.0).
The 49ers warmed-up for this week’s contest by beating up the lowly Jaguars on the road and the defense only allowed 200 yards of offense. They now rank sixth in the NFL with 318.3 yards against per game and third against the pass (202.4). San Francisco ran the ball for 171 yards on 42 carries in the win. They were led by receiver Deebo Samuel on the ground as he had eight carries for 79 yards and a score. Samuel leads the team with 55 catches for 994 yards, while Brandon Aiyuk has 29 catches for 341 yards and three scores. Jimmy Garoppolo has relied on quick, accurate passes to establish a 100.0 passer rating on the season for the 49ers. He has thrown for 2,112 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions in the conservative offense.
I really like this Minnesota team, especially on the road. They have covered four straight away from Minneapolis and the 49ers struggle at home. I’m expecting another big game from Cousins and I’m calling for a Minnesota victory.
Pick: Vikings +3
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